


When You Look in the Mirror (And Don't Like What You See)

by queer_consultant



Series: His Greatest Re-Creation [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean Winchester Has Self-Esteem Issues, Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Praise, Self-Esteem Issues, Sort Of, i promise the second one will be smut for real, poor babe, posted right before s14e1 airs first :), reassurance of worth from cas, short and cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 17:18:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16268810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queer_consultant/pseuds/queer_consultant
Summary: Dean has some self-esteem issues, especially considering he's put on a few stubborn pounds lately. Castiel knows, and he's tired of waiting for Dean to learn that he is perfect just the way he is.Kissing, touching, and reassuring praises ensue.





	When You Look in the Mirror (And Don't Like What You See)

Dean Winchester had, as of lately, found himself to be dissatisfied with the state of his stomach. No matter how much he worked out, no matter how active he was on his hunts, the soft give of the pudge persisted. He grumbled to himself when he lifted his shirt up each morning, disappointed to find that, in fact, the bothersome thing had remained in its less-than-preferred state.

Castiel, the angel who valued Dean's life over the seven-billion-and-counting other lives on Earth, was saddened by this fact. He could sense Dean's displeasure with the progress of his body, or lack thereof. His dismay at this was duly prefaced upon the fact that he had been the one who single-handedly reconstructed the body of the Righteous Man, and a magnificent body it was at that.

Freckles adorned the sun-kissed expanses of Dean Winchester's body. Every inch of him had something unique about it, and Castiel did, in fact, know each and every inch. In the process of rebuilding, Castiel had memorized every tantalizing bit of that body, and anything less than love for it broke a piece of his proverbial heart away. The warmth of the skin was his, in a way; he had left a bit of himself in his finest work.

He loved everything about Dean Winchester, and valued him at a level that an angel should never have been capable of valuing a human being at.

When he saw Dean poking and prodding at his belly with a scowl for the umpteenth time, he vowed that instance would be the very last if he could help it.

+

When Castiel caught Dean looking at himself in the mirror one morning, clad in a thin black t-shirt and dark-wash blue-jeans, trying to suck in his breath to pull in that squishy, cute little belly, he made his presence known.

"Dean," he said softly, getting him to whirl around and tug his shirt down, face flushed.

"Cas! What are you, uh - what're you doing here? How long - " He cleared his throat nervously.

"Long enough, Dean," Castiel said, stepping towards Dean. "You need to stop that, you know."

Dean made a face. "Stop what, Cas?" he asked pointedly.

Castiel played his fingers over his own palm, tempted to reach out towards Dean. He opted for answering the question instead of doing so. "Stop believing that you are not perfect."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Cas, that's stupid. This isn't some chick-flick where - where you try to convince me that I'm not flawed and shit."

"Dean, I simply mean that you need to stop doubting your worth. Stop being so harsh in regards to the state of your body. It is beaut-"

"Castiel, I swear, if you say mu body is beautiful I will hurl."

Castiel looked at Dean with a single brow raised. "You will not vomit, I assure you."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I don't want to talk about it - about this - not now, so just quit it, Cas. Give it up," he said halfheartedly, heading toward the bathroom door, the frame of which was filled by the bulk of Castiel's full form, though he was still smaller in comparison to Dean.

The angel extended his arm to block his friend's way, keeping him in and reviving a look punctuated by pursed lips.

"I will not tolerate this, Dean," he said sternly. "You are not to - no, you will not - disrespect yourself again."

Castiel's eyes narrowed as he spoke, and his voice dripped lower, becoming even more sonorous than usual.

"You are beautiful, Dean Winchester. I would know. I rebuilt you, just as you rebuild your car, because that's what you do when you love something - someone.

"I rebuilt you, and I know every inch, every scar, every single freckle, every little detail. I am not the one to debate with when it comes to the beauty of your physical form.

"Every time I see you pinch at your belly and wrinkle up tour nose, watch the corners your mouth turn down when you think no one can see, it pains me.

"This body of yours is important, and you degrade yourself when you deny the value of it.

"Think of the people who you're close to, the people that love you. Do you think the state of your physical form matters to them?"

Castiel's face was dangerously close to Dean's. He could feel heat, energy, raw power radiating off of the angel, and he resisted leaning in just a little closer, pressing forward.

"Do you, Dean?" Castiel repeated in a growl, eyes searching Dean's fiercely.

"Yes," Dean breathed, "Yes, Cas."

Quiet rage flashed through Castiel's blue eyes, darkened with something else something that made Dean want to push further. Instead, though, he kept himself hushed.

In a split second, Castiel's hands were on Dean, gripping the hem of his t-shirt and tugging it up over Dean's head. The angel's fingers ran over his shoulders, across the blades, clasping the place where his hand-print once adorned the smooth, freckled skin, and he discarded the shirt to the bathroom floor without a second thought. Dropping to his knees in a frenzy, Castiel dragged his hands down Dean's sides, brushing his rib-cage, ghosting the pads of his thumbs down towards the softened give that brought Dean such shame.

"Dean," he muttered softly, "Dean, Dean." He looked up to find the man in question with his eyes fluttering shut, cheeks flushed and knuckles white as he gripped the door frame.

"I can assure you, no one thinks any less of you for this," Castiel said, pressing his lips just off to the right of where one of his thumbs rested.

"It's beautiful, Dean, this body," he whispered, a certain adoration glazing his words, "and every piece tells a story."

He peppered more kisses over the smooth skin, talking softly between each one.

"This body has scars, markings showing your selfless valor in battle with the evils of this world, the remnants of the lives you've saved."

Castiel's fingers grazed Dean's spine as he continued.

"This belly is, as I would like to believe, the result of happy things. It shows that you are well. You are in no way malnourished, and better yet, you are a provider. What made this is what pleases you, all of the wonderful things you share," he said warmly, resuming his endeavor.

"This is the pleasantry from your pies, your beers, your pizza and burgers and all of the delicious foods you enjoy. That is good, Dean.

"I understand your dissatisfaction but do not ever feel compelled to change yourself physically or otherwise simply because you believe it better suits the preferences of others."

Castiel trailed open-mouthed kisses up toward Dean's chest, then back down over his stomach, hands roaming and teasing around, getting Dean to tilt his head backwards and sigh softly despite his otherwise quickening breaths. 

+

The next day, somewhere around late-morning but not quite noon, Dean began to think. Dean wasn't all that sure if he was supposed to remember what had happened after the - well, what should he refer to last night's events as? reassurance, perhaps - previous happenings in the bathroom. He had no idea if the sudden spike in the progress of his relationship with Cas was something they were going to discuss, or if he should be dreading such a discussion.

Instead of worrying, for once, he took a look around, still a little bleary-eyed.

He had woken up in his own bed in good ol' Room 11 of the Men of Letters Bunker, and, covered in a certain angel's trench-coat, watched the seconds pass on his watch that sat on his bed-side table. Familiar footfalls soon enough followed and the door creaked as it pushed open.

He grinned at the figure in the doorway, who may as well have been half-naked since he had the sleeves of his usual white dress-shirt rolled up to his elbows, leaving his forearms exposed. He was missing his usual tie, overcoat, and obviously, the trench-coat.

"Hey, Cas," Dean croaked. "You, uh, all right?"

Castiel nodded. He raised two steaming mugs in his hands. "I've come bearing gifts," he said with a small smile.

Dean sat up and patted the edge of the bed, gently tugging the trench-coat up off of his body to find that he was half-nude but still partially clad, just in plain gray sweatpants that hung just a little too low on his waist. He felt self-conscious about his belly, but Cas clearly was not repulsed by it after last night's events.

The angel sat on the edge of the bed an handed Dean his mug of coffee, which smelled absolutely amazing. 

"Careful," he warned quietly, "it's, uh - it's hot."

Dean grinned again, pressing his lips to the edge and tipping it up just a little to take a cautious sip. He looked Castiel in the eyes and said with a wink, "Yeah, it is pretty hot. Just the way I like my multidimensional wavelengths of celestial intent."

Cas shot him a knowing look. "Perhaps that could be explored more later. But for now," he began and raised his mug as if in a toast, "drink."

Dean hummed. "You don't have to tell me twice."

**Author's Note:**

> I got it done! Promise the next one will be up A-S-A-P with the smut part, a. k. a. what happened "last night" for Dean and Cas.
> 
> Can't wait for S14E1 airing in an hour!
> 
> P. S., Comments (which feel like hugs and whispered encouragements) and kudos (which feel like applause) are so very appreciated!


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